1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved electrical ignition system for a pilot burner of a fuel burning apparatus, such as a cooking apparatus or the like, and to a method of making such an electrical ignition system.
2. Prior Art Statement
It is known to provide an ignition system for a pilot burner of a cooking apparatus wherein the pilot burner has means for issuing fuel out of an outlet means thereof and being supplied thereto from a source of said fuel and an electrical probe has an end spaced from the outlet means of the pilot burner to provide a spark gap therewith and through which an electrical sparking is adapted to take place to ignite the issuing fuel when the probe is interconnected to a source of electrical energy and the fuel is issuing from the outlet means.
The end of the probe is disposed above the outlet means of the pilot burner so that once a continuously burning flame is created at the outlet means of the pilot burner through the previous electrical sparking, the continuously burning pilot flame provides an ionization of the air between the grounded pilot burner and the end of the probe to continuously dissipate a capacitor which originally had the charge build up to cause the sparking from the probe end so that further sparking of the probe does not take place as long as the pilot flame exists. However, should the flame cease, the capacitor is then permitted to build up its charge in a manner to cause a resparking from the end of the probe to the grounded pilot burner to reignite the issuing fuel.
A similar arrangement is provided in the patent to Wolfe et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,511,588 except that the ignition probe is interconnected to a piezoelectric crystal element means which when squeezed or impacted will provide a sparking potential. However, the probe end is disposed above the outlet of the pilot burner which directs its fuel vertically upwardly to be deflected by a flame shield toward the ignition probe, the ignition probe creating a spark gap with a diffusion tang at the free end of the flame shield.
It is also known to provide a pilot burner that creates a small stand-by pilot flame which will be increased to a large heater flame by a control device so that the large heater flame is sensed by a sensor of a safety valve means which only opens when such large flame exists at the pilot burner means and thereby permits a fuel flow to the main burner means that is ignited by the pilot burner means. Thus, as long as the large flame exists at the pilot burner means, fuel is permitted to flow to the main burner means, the large flame at the pilot burner means being under the control of a thermostatically operated control device that is set to the desired temperature that is to be maintained in a cooking oven or the like.
For example, see the following U.S. patent
(1) U.S. patent to Riehl, U.S. Pat. No. 3,308,871
It is also known to provide an ignition electrode disposed beneath a main gas burner of an oven or the like.
For example, see the following U.S. patent:
(2) U.S. patent to Ensign et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,545,945
It appears in FIG. 9 of Item (2) above, that an ignition electrode is disposed beneath a main gas burner.